State: Think twice before approving bonds

Before early voting for Saturday’s election ended Tuesday, state Comptroller Susan Combs asked Texas voters to take a close look at the multimillion-dollar bonds more than 80 school districts and some municipalities are asking them to authorize.

“Taxpayers will vote on $6.7 billion in bond proposals,” her office said in a news release.

“These elections affect every Texan,” the release states before encouraging voters to visit the Comptroller’s “Tell the Truth Texas” website, www.tellthetruthtexas.org

The website explains the local bond election process and the bond proposals on the May 10 ballot.

Although bond elections seldom excite Texas voters — in many communities, the voter turnout is often less than 5 percent — some state legislators said they hope Saturday’s voters heed Combs’ recommendation.

Local debt — though necessary to finance the infrastructure rapidly growing school districts and communities need — must be kept in line to avoid mortgaging the future of today’s and tomorrow’s children, the lawmakers argue.

“Any time you issue debt, you are making a commitment to the future as far as repaying that,” Rep. John Frullo, R-Lubbock said before explaining that school boards and local governments tend to be responsible and only issue debt they are certain they can repay.

“I think from the state level we need to take a look at that and say ‘the local school districts, we want them to be able to manage themselves,’ and I think the local control we all talk about is very important,” Frullo said. “That’s how I look at it.”

Eight of the 103 bond elections in the state are in the Texas Panhandle/South Plains region, according to Combs’ report.

Of those, Frenship Independent School District is asking for voter approval of an $85.2 million bond. Its current debt is $173.2 million, the largest in the region among entities issuing bonds this year.

Next is Lubbock-Cooper ISD, which issued a $55 million bond proposal. Its current debt is $121.5 million.

“The citizens need to evaluate, and we need to have it clear to where a voter or a citizen in that district knows what they are voting on and how much additional debt they are taking on, ” said Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster.

If they are taking additional debt, what is it for, what the basis is for it and it needs to be clear enough that the citizen who is going to vote can understand it,” said Springer, whose 22-county House District 68 represents 76 school districts.

“As fiscally responsible people, we just don’t want to take too much debt that we cannot afford to do,” he said.

For Rep. Four Price, one key consideration is how much debt the entity issuing a bond proposal already has.

“Some communities and school districts have a low debt ratio, but for others it is high,” Price, R-Amarillo, said.

“Everyone has to sit down and take notice, but sometimes it gets less attention that it deserves,” Price said in reference to the usually low voter turnout in bond elections.

For instance, of the 18 school districts Price’s House District 87 represents only Sanford-Fritch ISD — which educates 865 students from Carson, Hutchinson and Moore counties — issued a bond proposal. It is for $8 million to pay for school renovations and buses. The district’s current debt is $410,863.

As it happens in other school districts and communities in the state that issued bond proposals this year, officials from the various entities in West Texas have made it clear why the additional debt is necessary.

Slaton ISD, whose current debt is $3.7 million, is asking its voters to authorize an additional $15 million for school renovations, technology and security, according to Combs’ office.

And Frenship ISD issued the $85.2 million bond proposal to keep up with its explosive growth, Public Information Director Andy Penney told A-J Media.

For instance, enrollment at Frenship High School has increased substantially during the last seven years, from 1,641 students in 2007 to 2,185 this year.

“Usually you peak out in the fall semester,” Penney said. “We have continued to grow.”

Source: Texas Comptroller’s Office

Local debt

The State Comptroller’s Office lists 103 bond proposals on the May 10 ballot and of those, 82 were issued by school districts, 19 by cities or towns – Fort Worth alone issued seven – one from a community college district and another from a hospital district. The eight entities listed below are in the Texas Panhandle/South Plains region.